Orange-crowned Warbler
(Vermivora celata)

Cool Fact: Orange-crowned Warblers are largely insectivorous, but in parts of their range they also commonly consume willow sap from wells drilled by sapsuckers.

In voice and plumage, Orange-crowned Warblers are very plain birds — so unremarkable indeed that their very dullness distinguishes them far more than their orange crowns, which are usually hidden. Certainly the drabbest of the wood-warblers, they are nevertheless sprightly and enjoyable to watch as they flit restlessly about shrubs and tree branches, reaching and hanging to pick off insect prey.

Orange-crowned Warblers are among the more abundant and widespread warbler species, breeding across most of Alaska and northern Canada, from the Northwest Territories to northern Quebec, in the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin, and along the Pacific coast from Alaska to southern California. Coastal populations in Washington, Oregon, and California are resident year-round; Orange-crowned Warblers that breed in the boreal forests and mountains migrate to wintering grounds in the southeastern United States, central and southern Texas, and much of coastal and interior Mexico.

The species nests in a variety of wooded habitats, from the pine-oak woodlands of Arizona to chaparral country of California to the deciduous forests and coniferous forest edges of Alaska and Canada. Across their range, Orange-crowned Warblers prefer habitat with areas of thick, low shrubs.

The diet of Orange-crowned Warblers consists largely of insects and spiders. They also consume some berries, seeds, and tree sap, and visit suet feeders in winter. They forage in dense foliage in both low shrubs and the tree canopy, moving actively, gleaning invertebrates from the tips of branches and leaves.

Orange-crowned Warblers nest on or near the ground, in crevices with overhanging vegetation, or in bushes, ferns, vines, or trees. Nests are open cups made of twigs, bark, grass, and other fine vegetative matter, often with hair or fur. Females generally lay four to five eggs, and are solely responsible for incubation and brooding. Males and females both feed young. Fledging occurs about 11 days after hatching.

Description: A small warbler, measuring about 5 inches in length. Orange-crowned Warblers are the dullest warblers, with grayish-olive upperparts and gray streaks on drab yellowish breast and flanks. Facial markings are also plain, with an indistinct whitish supercilium and a subtle black line appearing on the lores and behind the eye. Bill is very sharply pointed. Crown patch, rarely in plain view, is dark orange-brown. Adult males and females appear similar; females have less-distinct crown patches, or none at all. Juveniles and first-winter birds resemble adults.

There are four recognized subspecies of Orange-crowned Warbler, each with its own particular plumage characteristics. Those that breed along the Pacific coast from Alaska to northern California are more yellow. Darker greenish plumage distinguishes a second subspecies, which breeds on the Channel Islands off southern California. Orange-crowned Warblers that breed in the boreal forests of Canada are dull and gray; those that breed in the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin are intermediate between boreal and Pacific populations.

Orange-crowned Warblers and Tennessee Warblers (Vermivora peregrina), especially first-winter birds, closely resemble each other. They may be distinguished by the color of their undertail coverts — bright yellow for Orange-crowned Warblers, and white or very faintly yellow-tinted for Tennessee Warblers. Also, Tennessee Warblers lack any streaking on their breasts or flanks.

Voice: The song of Orange-crowned Warblers is a plain trill, lasting about 1.5 seconds, with very little discernible variation in pitch or tempo. Call note is a sharp chip .

Recording credit: The recording of the Orange-crowned Warbler was made by Geoffrey A. Keller, MLNS catalog # 56824. Recordings of the Orange-crowned Warbler may be found on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's audio guides, available at our online Cornell Lab Birding Shop.

The Birds of North America www.birds.cornell.edu/birdsofna is supported in part by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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